Hi everybody. New to the whole forum posting thing so please be gentle. Anyway, here's the deal. Decided to give coyote and fox hunting a try this winter for the first time. Myself and my brother have been out a few times now and thus far no luck. We've tried using rabbit squeals, coyote challenge howling, coyote fight mocking, and another number of tactics (basing our strategies off what we've seen on predator hunting movies). Just wondering if it makes sense to start out with a rabbit squeal and then switch to coyote vocalizations (usually 30 seconds of calling then quiet for 5 minutes)? We do this usually 3 times and then begin to challenge howl. Will yotes vocally respond to the squealing or is it more of a "just keep scanning the area for movement/eye reflection?" Wondering if it makes sense to do rabbit squeals then turn it into coyote howls (in the same setup) or are we giving away too many of our "tricks"? To my knowledge these animals have not been pressured hard or at all. Also, it obviously makes sense to go where we have been hearing them at night but is it absolutely neccessary? What I mean is just because we don't hear them in an area, does it not pay to hunt them there? Maybe we're expecting too much, but just thought we'd have some sort of response (guess what they don't show you on the videos is the 10 hours of footage with nothing happening!) Anyways, thanks for any and all replies in advance and information is much appreciated. By the way, dang nice forum! Lot's of good information.

If I was to give any advise it would be get to know the coyotes and fox in your area. Coyotes are coyotes no matter where you live but they have adapted to the environment where they live. What are they fedding on? Where are they sleeping and hunting?. Here in Minnesota you can get a feel for the numbers by tracks in the snow and asking the farmers if they have heard or seen any lately. As far as the callling goes use you imagination and try different calls. Make notes what works and what doesn't. I know one thing that has helped me is to call and make sure you are watching the area downwind of your calling stand. For me if I can give them some area to snak in on the downwind but be see before they can smell you all the better. It is not uncommon to call 10-1 before I get one to come in. Area's of the country have more coyotes than here and the ratio would be higher. Coyotes can travel a long way and there may be tracks that are new but they may be 15 to 20 miles away when you get there to call. Don't give up and take notes of the things you do.

Thanks for the advice Dave. Defenitely have thought about the whole "hunting journal" thing. One more quick question, The times we have been out it has been windier than s#$t. We were questioning if the animals could even hear our prey calls at any amount of distance. Is it harder to hunt them on windy days/nights since call sound may not travel as far and the human scent is getting blown that much farther?

scouting and time on stand are important try to look for a calling line , a series of calling locations and spend 15 mins max on stand yotes move a lot and you need multiple stands to intercept them i personally would stick to distress calls and stay away from coyote talk until your more experienced

There are no great tips on coyote hunting. The biggest thing to do is to think like a coyote. If it was really windy and you were trying to avoid being shot but your belly is growling where would you be?

Dave Englund wrote:There are no great tips on coyote hunting. The biggest thing to do is to think like a coyote. If it was really windy and you were trying to avoid being shot but your belly is growling where would you be?

Down at the Macdonald's...

Locked&Loaded wrote: I got out shot by a 13 yeard old girl.

jrockncash wrote:Is that mask only for ghosts or can fat guys with little weiners use it too?